Dorian
My body hurt all over. I don’t remember ever hurting this bad. Not even when I was shot by that ISIS moron. What was that smell? It sure was a nice and relaxing aroma and man this bed is soft. Oh, wait, this is my bed in Boston. I stirred, opened my eyes, saw Khloe curled up in the chair next to my bed. She was dressed in her trademark yoga pants and a sports bra. Whoever created yoga pants needs to be sainted in my opinion.
I laid there and watched her sleep. Man, she was beautiful and I was one lucky SOB. I heard my door open and I turned my head in that direction as Talia walk in dressed in similar attire to Khloe. “Hey, sis,” I said my voice broken and raspy.
A smile lit Talia’s face and I heard Khloe stir in the chair. They both said at the same time, “You’re awake!”
“Water?”
Khloe poured me a glass of water as Talia helped me sit up. Khloe sat down next to me and handed me the glass. I took a drink and felt the cottonmouth recede. “I feel like I was hit by a tank. How long have I been out?”
Talia and Khloe exchanged looks and then Talia started, “It’s been a week since we went over to that apartment building that belonged to the coven. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah, there was something fishy about the whole situation and then someone in red robes came in. A priest of that Kirin guy.”
Khloe then picked up the story “Yes, he gave off a malevolent aura and that had the rest of us on our knees, but for some reason, you and Talia were not affected by it. Then T pulled out those blades of hers and went all Legolas on his ass. All the while you were taking your clothes off getting ready to change.” She looked at both Talia and I, “How is it that you can take that beast form? I know it’s extremely rare for most shifters and unheard of in bird shifters.”
Talia and I exchanged looks I replied, “We think it has something to do with our dad’s blood. Even our mom can’t take that form and she can’t remember the last time any shifter in this region has been able to. We can’t hold it long but usually, it lasts long enough. Not this time though. I’ve never faced a vampire who could move and fight that well and those damn blades. Is that why I’ve been out for a week?”
“Yes, those blades are cursed by some nasty magic. You couldn’t heal them without help from my magic and some really powerful herb mixes that my dad suggested.” Khloe continued, “But what do you mean ‘your dad’s blood’? I know he’s a rare kind of supernatural.”
I looked at Talia and she nodded at me, indicating that she trusted Khloe with her life and our family’s biggest secret. “Our dad is an Angel.”
“You mean like with wings, armor, sword, and holy fire type of Angel?”
I nodded “Yes.”
“But, how is that possible?”
“He was originally sent down here to track down one of the Fallen when he met our mother. He was smitten with her almost instantly. She helped him track down the Fallen. You know, with her being a werewolf her heightened sense of smell made it easier for her to track them. After they found him and our father killed him, he left and went back to ‘Heaven’ and left our mom behind. A couple of years later, mom ran into him in an Irish pub near our home in Portsmouth, NH. There he looked like a normal human. The wings and everything were gone. Mom asked him why he came back and he just smiled and said, ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about you.’ Mom was dumbstruck since he was an Angel. She couldn’t understand why an immortal being from beyond wanted a mortal, albeit a supernatural mortal. ‘Why me?’ she asked him and he said that it was ‘her heart and strength of character that he fell in love with.’ They have been together ever since and Talia and I are more than grateful for that.”
“He gave up everything for your mom?”
Talia answered her “Not everything. He is still just as strong and fast as an Alpha Were or a Master Vampire. He has super healing and he does still have his angelic blade. So, our parents think that it is his blood that allows us to take the beast form for combat.”
Khloe looked thoughtful, “And I thought that I was the bigger freak.”
I shook my head “So, what have I missed in the last week?”
The girls spent the next couple of hours filling me in on everything that had happened since we returned to the townhouse. Like the fact that two of the vampires that were killed in that apartment building where visiting elders. It looked like Kirin had some of his priest’s that have been in hiding for over five hundred years began their moves to take out the vampires that directly benefited from the demise of Kirin and his priests. Talia also told me that mom and dad were currently running everything. Mom was running the pack and dad Fenris Security. They were giving us all time to recover. Talia was also taking a leave of absence from her law firm while we pursued both Kirin and the Book of Souls. Khloe said that she had a lead on the book but was waiting for me to wake before going after it.
Talia went to see about getting me some food since I was currently feeling starved. She had said something about ordering some Chinese food. Khloe sat next to me on the bed and was playing with the ends of the sheet.
“Hey, I’m ok. You healed me.”
“I thought I lost you. I’ve never allowed myself to feel this way about anyone before. I mean, I’ve had boyfriends and all that just usually don’t allow myself to develop feelings because I always knew I wouldn’t be around. You know, with school and internships. It’s also kind of hard to explain to most that ‘Hey I also turn into a bird of prey.’”
I chuckled at her, pulled her into a hug and wrapped my arms around her. I then lifted her chin and kissed her like she was the last woman in the world, from the way my wolf felt, she was. He was quite content now. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around me. We spent some time just touching and kissing. I loved how she seemed to fit and how calm I was with her holding me.
“I feel the same, Khloe. I never expected to come home and meet someone, let alone meet you. You had me that first day at Kenji’s dojo. I was fascinated with your fighting style and I love your tats.”
She burst out laughing at me “Oh, you’re so easy. T already told me that you love tattoos. So, what do we do now?”
I kissed her again and answered, “I for one, plan on not letting you go if that’s ok with you?”
She returned the kiss and snuggled closer to me. We went on like that for what seemed like an hour. Kissing and exploring each other with our mouths and hands. Then I felt someone starring and heard “Ahem!” I looked up and saw Talia smirking and leaning against the open door. That was when I smelled the delicious Chinese food that she had ordered. “Khloe, would you please stop sampling him like he’s the last piece of chocolate on the planet?” Then looking at me she continued “And you, could you please stop molesting my best friend, put some clothes on then come and get some food?” She turned around and left us for the food.
Khloe buried her head in my shoulder. As I was about to say something my stomach growled loudly which caused her to bust out laughing and untangled herself from me while she walked towards the dining room and adjusted her clothes. I laid back, sighing, before getting out of bed and joining the girls.
I spent the next couple of weeks eating, sleeping, and just regaining my strength. I also spent time with my dad who was down and running Fenris Security. We spent some time talking about the weapons that the priest had used against us and what we could do to counter them. When I could, I spent as much time with Khloe as we could. Most of it was spent downstairs in the workout room with the two of us sparing. Talia would join us when she could get away from mom and all the questions that she had about what was going on with the pack. She had also heard of other attacks on Coven locations all over the world.
Most of our intel on Kirin and his priest’s movements came from packs across the world. The most disturbing thing was that no one had seen Kirin since that photo of him down in Central America. Khloe spent most of her days, when she wasn’t with me, getting in touch with contacts that might know something about Kirin and the location of the Book of Souls. Our days usually ended with the three of us in our room’s watching movies.
It was towards the end of the third week that I had regained almost all my strength back. I was down in the workout room sparring with one of the QRF guys when Khloe raced into the room with an ecstatic look on her face.
“You found something, didn’t you?”
She looked at me and nodded. “You bet that fine ass of yours I did. Or rather one of my mom’s friends who lives near the Peruvian and Columbian borders with Brazil did. From what she learned, a small pre-Columbian temple was found in the middle of the jungle. There was some archaic reference to it in the histories of the Eagle Warriors of my people. No one ever thought anything about it until they heard about the return of Kirin. They believe it might be where the book was hidden away after his overthrow and the demise of his priests.”
“Ok then. We need to decide on arrangements to get us down there and check this place out. I’m guessing there is no easy way to get there. Middle of the Amazon and everything.”
She nodded to me and said “We’ll have to fly into Lima and then take a flight from there to the border town of Tabatinga, Brazil.
and Columbia and from there we’re going to have continue on boat.”
I picked up a towel, wiped my face as I walked over, and kissed her. “Let’s go tell T and my parents.” We held hands and left the workout room.